Even In Death
by geemcgee
Summary: Michael Corvin is dead and Selene mourns in a madness that grips her mind. But now something else has come upon the citizens of the underworld something that threatens to wipeout every human, Lycan and Vampire. Who will stop it?
1. Even in Death

**AN: Disclaimer: I do not own Underworld or any characters except for Sonia, Maxwell and any others that are not usually there. All I can say is that, I just do what many people have done for thousands of years; create stories, tell tales; allowing others to see a different outline. Hope you'll enjoy. **

**1**

_"'You'll get over it...' It's the clichés that cause the trouble. To lose someone you love is to alter your life for ever. You don't get over it because 'it' is the person you loved. The pain stops, there are new people, but the gap never closes. How could it? The particularness of someone who mattered enough to grieve over is not erased by anyone but death. This hole in my heart is in the shape of you and no one else can fit. Why would I want them to?"__  
_

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**G**ive me a reason to believe that you're gone_

The rain poured down, drenching, soaking; throwing the world into an eerie silence.

_I see your shadow, so I know they're all wrong_

She held him, caressing his face as the stillness lingered ever longer beneath her gaze, his skin before, a grey pallor was now blue, and his breath came and went in shallow gasps.

_Moonlight on the soft, brown earth  
it leads me to where you lay  
_  
"Please, don't leave me. Not now." She pleaded feeling the icy tears run down her face, with some effort, he opened his eyes, holding her own. His breathing was becoming more difficult, he shifted beneath her gaze; trying desperately to draw it. To do something.

_they took you away from me_

Ignoring what was said about looking at the dying, they locked eyes, and she cupped his face in her hands.

_but now…_

She could see him trying to mouth words he had not strength left to utter

…_I'm taking you_

and leaned closer until his lips brushed her ear.

…_home_

"I love…love you" he whispered and in that instant, he stilled, too long finally. The sickness ignoring her pleas, as the poison took hold, constructing his body into a rigid statuesque form.

…_I will stay forever here with you, my love_

Uncaring she grasped him to her, hoping that I some way it would hold on to any shred of life he had, hoping that she would hold him back.

_The softly spoken words you gave me_

But not even her cold warmth could revive him.

_even in death our love goes on_

"Please, don't go, please, I'd give anything" she cried. Still, with one last breath he left her.

… _and i can't love you any more than I do_

"Michael!" The heart wrenching inhuman cry that burst forth from her lips at that moment, was enough even to startle the heavens. She grasped him to her; her tears mixing with that of the rain; rocking back and forth vainly, desperately trying to save him, and knowing it was too late, knowing that with all her power- she had still failed.

Soon her cry tapered into sobs and she buried her face into his shoulder trying to capture his fading essence into her memory.

It wasn't too short a time, before the sun rose, she hadn't even noticed the rain had stopped. By then her tears had disappeared, but the pain did not along the aching that seemed to radiate somewhere near her midsection were dry sobs, all that she now had the strength to do.

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_Even in Death - Evanescence _  



	2. The Twins

**2. **

"_I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little- death that brings around total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn my inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."  
**Frank Herbert, Dune - Bene Gesserit Litany against fear.**_

_**In an alley, in the middle of the night:**_

"Can't believe I'm doing this, you owe me one Maxwell," she grumbled kicking over another bin and watching as the lid skittered, across the floor.

"Hey! Will you stop moaning already…do you want to get caught!" Her brother hissed in a low whisper. She glanced at where she thought she saw him, shooting daggers at the back of his curly black-haired head.

"No, but still, if Mum knew…she'd kick your butt for taking her sword" she muttered.

"What Mum doesn't know won't hurt her…"

"But she always does, she has a knack for stuff like that, it's freaky" she shuddered "– it's like she has a sixth sense or some- ARGH!" The last word was bitten off as suddenly someone grabbed her ponytail from behind.

She felt her head snap back and heard a sharp crack as her skull ricocheted off the brick wall. She grabbed the back of her head as pain laced through her skull. The world spun before her eyes, turning the black back alley, hazy; she went down, feeling cold concrete through her jacket.

"Sonia" Her brother snarled her name as he spun round pulling out a silver double-edged blade as he saw her go down.

A cold laugh filled her ears, the sound sending chills down her back. She felt someone's shadow fall across her face and she felt some grab her arm and pull her too her feet.

"I wouldn't think about that if I were you, boy," a harsh, grating voice hissed next to her ear.

She stumbled into the figure, as the sudden rush of blood to her head left her legs feeling weak. Suddenly something thin and sharp scratched her neck; the pain startlingly severe against the throbbing pain radiating from behind her eyes. Her head seemed to clear instantly.

"Now, let's see what we have here" the voice said again.

Sonia glanced around, shifting slightly- breathing shallowly in order to alleviate some of the pressure on her neck. Fear twisted her stomach in an iron grip; she was scared, hell, she would have been pissing her pants and blubbering like a baby if given the chance; her heart was pounding against her chest and her mind screamed at her she was probably going to die. However, despite the fact that she was so scared she felt like she was going to hurl all over the shiny black shoes belonging to her captor she tried her hardest to keep that fact to herself. Her mother often said that Death Dealers could and would use that fear against you, and if Sonia's instincts were right, these were death dealers. She pushed her feelings aside, she would not fear, if she did - more than her life would surely be lost.

Two men stood at the end of the alley, black coats mixing in with the darkness. Another faced her brother and another held the knife to her throat, at seeing her shift he placed a vice like grip on her forearm. She quickly weighed up her chances.  
Even with what she knew it would be difficult to get out of this one; sweat trickled down her neck, making a cold chill run down her spine; something was definitely wrong.

'_Ah hell, why the crap did I agree to this in the first place? - Mum is going to kill us…_' her train of thought tapered off, as the man began to talk.

"Now, what would two children be doing out this late at night…?" he said

"We're not children" Max growled

"Maaaxx…bad time to be defensive" she said in a singsong voice through gritted teeth. The knife cut deeper into her throat as the grip on her arm tightened. '_Great!_' she thought with great sarcasm '_I am either going to die of no circulation or bleed to death all over the alleyway…_' and, Sonia knew she _really_ didn't feel like dying today.

"Max, you do realise I am going to seriously hurt you when we get out of this…"

She shivered as the alleyway erupted into laughter.

"Tut…tut…ever Selene's daughter…ever strong, rude, arrogant…stupid."

"Hey-" she began in defence before the sharp crack of skin upon skin cut her off. Max seemed to jump forward. As her senses reeled from the slap and her neck stung; the grip on her arm had loosened.

Finding her momentum, Sonia grabbed the knife wielders hand and stumbled purposely, throwing herself to the side, taking his arm with her, The person was ready for her stumble but not for the fact that she held on, tumbling with him as he went down. A sharp backhand across the face followed by a booted foot shot at his knee had the man down with a cry, dropping the knife to the ground. The two men further down began running drawing weapons out of the darkness of their coats. Facing at least eight men in all the twins shared a look as the fight began; it would almost be unfair.


	3. Party Tricks

**_Hey all, _**

**_Okay, so I guess I really have to explain myself before I go any further huh? Well, lets just say that along with some major writers block and my muse deciding to go on holiday – life just decided to put some major obstacles in my way- because it loves doing that! So, as a result; I've decided to edit and/ or update the whole thing because it was annoying me and because it would also give me a chance to get restarted completely- woo…  
So, guys, some major apologies on my part and I really hope this doesn't cause too much confusion- if there are any questions please feel free to email me. The address should be on my info page. _**

**_- Hope you enjoy the rest of the tale..._**

**_xSWx_**

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**3. **

_ Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come, we are not._

_- **Epicurus, "letter to Menoeceus", 124-125**_

The two men at the other end of the alley ran towards her. She glanced sideways as she ducked a fist, flying over her head. She saw Max slice the air between The Voice and himself, driving him backwards.

With the force of a counter attack, Sonia grabbed the next fist that flew towards her, twisting it sharply and pulling the arm and all the connecting body towards her. Making sure her fist connected with the face-, the man reeled back with a grunt, twisting his arm away. Sonia went on the attack, she lunged forward aiming, for his torso, as the man's hand shot out to grab her own, she shifting her hand-palm up and slammed up to smack the underside of his jaw. The man stumbled back, and she aimed a roundhouse for his head, the force spinning him into the ground. The other ran full tilt towards her, aiming for her face. Ducking she locked her arms with his even as he slid back, locking her elbow. She tried to pull back; but he lifted her off her feet and into the wall. The force was able to wind her in process even as she heard the sharp crack of her spin on the wall, but she did not care. Taking the momentum, she twisted her feet up to the wall, pushed back, and propelled him into the wall, her body protesting from the effort, as he released her, she then levelled a well-aimed punch to his temple and pushed him away from her with a foot.

Hearing the whistle of a knife behind her, she flipped up and over, ducking as a sword sliced over her head. She found her balance and kicked out connecting with the man's ribs. He twisted away from it, round and swiped at her head, Sonia, spotting a nearby trash lid; belonging to the same she had kicked earlier, she flipped it up and using it as a Frisbee levelled it at her attacker' head, where it connected with a dull thud.

She managed to dive back and quickly twisted as another man ran at her from her left side. She quickly grabbed his jacket, backhanding him snapping his head back round. Seeing that the other man was running towards her again she aimed a side kick towards him, now holding on to the other' lapels she propelled him forward onto his side-while giving her leverage enough to aim a swift, sweeping backwards roundhouse at one of the men that thought he could take her by surprise.

She felt like screaming her ribs were in so much pain, but she wondered at that moment where all the weaponry had gone, there was certainly more effective ways to subdue both her and her brother, yet all this time it seemed that they were only fighting, to cause a distraction. Ducking down quickly as one of the men ran towards her again, she threw him over her; spotting a knife. She grabbed for it and flicked it- blade up towards the same man. It lodged in the left side of his chest; he went down, turning to ash in the same moment

"MAX! We have a problem!" she cried out, her thoughts were certified.

But being diverted by staying alive through the attack she heard his voice ring in her ears "well d'uh, no shit Sherlock!" she narrowed her eyes, swearing vengeance. Crying out in surprise as she ducked, narrowly missing the blade swinging towards her face, she was distracted however from the fist to her stomach and went down. A foot connected with her already painful side. She snarled and twisted; grabbing the foot and unbalancing the owner. She got to her feet holding her ribs, trying to find her own balance. Two feet connected painfully with her back and Sonia stumbled forward into the wall, narrowly missing an exposed piece of twisted metal.

"Ah cra-" she turned to the side; not missing the nick of the blade as it got her shoulder. She ducked as the blade swung to the right for her head; but she had, had enough. She grabbed the hand (missing the blade by inches) keeping the blade away from her body. She twisted it up and round and slicing the man on the chest, before taking the sword and taking his head. He went down, turning to ash. She hadn't had time to marvel at the fact that these death dealers really hadn't even bothered to use guns or bullets of any kind and thereby getting themselves well and truly grated into the sidewalk, she was very actually very glad that they hadn't; other wise she would not have made it through the night.

Once her vision had cleared of oncoming attack she glanced towards Max who still battled furiously with the voice. Lunging backwards and forwards, her brother parried and blocked it seemed that Max had the upper hand and was now trying to aim for the unknown body's mid-section. The swords clanged harshly in the night, sparks flying. Suddenly, by switching his grip, the voice managed to twist the sword away from his midsection-thus enabling him to aim a savage stab towards Max' chest.

It was a good thing then that Max had good reflexes and was able to jump back, diving for the sword and bringing it up in one fluid motion, in time to save a savage swipe downwards. He was a good swordsman, better than she in some cases was, but not now, it seemed; for a while, the two fighters were immobile- only their breathing betraying the fact that they were more than immortal stone.

As Sonia sneaked glances in the dim light, she could see the almost pale grey, complexion that was Max', sweat dripping down his face, From looking at the voice, he didn't even seem to be bothered, no sweat had formed on his brow and if it wasn't for the slight harshness of his breathing- Sonia would have thought that he hadn't been fighting at all.

"Well done, well done" the voice mocked", I misjudged the fact that I would have beaten you by now, thank you for giving me a work out. However, now is the time to stop playing games…" and with that, the voice uttered a mighty roar, and with a great shove unlocked his sword with that of Max', kicking her brother backwards and at least 10 ft into the air before he smashed into the brick wall and lay still.

"MAX!" Sonia screamed lunging at the voice; she swung the sword wildly near enough the voice's head – a killing blow, and missed completely. The shadow before her eyes side stepped her easily and swung his blade round as she dashed under his arm, managing to nick the underside. She was tense now, every muscle waiting in anticipation. It was obvious that he didn't use skill, just strength and speed, and if she at least, had two out of three- she could win. He roared swiping for her head as she ducked. She brought the sword down, its blade glinting in the shallow light, slicing through the air- and through flesh, blood, sinew, and bone. An anguished howl echoed through the night. Along with the clatter of a sword as it clattered to the pavement-the hand that held it turning to dust.

Sonia, for the moment trying to act unfazed, even though the bile was threatening to rise to her throat stepped forward, and placed the tip of the sword at the voice' neck; an impassive expression on her face. The voice had sunk to his knees cradling the stump of his hand in his jacket, sobbing gently.

"Who the fuck are you? Why did you suddenly decide to attack us?" she asked curtly.

She was shaky and tired and hurt in about a million different places, but she didn't care. She hadn't even had time to marvel at how; in her tired state she had, had time to stop his guy quicker than her brother had after fighting with him for nearly half the night. But she didn't care this fuckoff had hurt her brother; she was going to kill him-or at least that was her plan-after getting some information first. She was too busy trying not to collapse she didn't hear the footsteps behind her, or the whistled of the bat as it was brought down- on her back; too late.

Sonia crumpled silently. The man helped his comrade up and they left, leaving a trail of blood behind.

It was a while before Sonia awoke, swearing blindly as soon as she opened her eyes. The pain in her head and back-and mostly all over-were enormous. She tried to sit up; grunting with the effort; but her ribs grating together gave a different story.

She tried again, this time managing to sit up fully. She used the energy she had to twist her body round until she was on her knees. She didn't want to stop encase she didn't have the strength to stand.

Behind her Max uttered a small groan. "Sonia?" he said softly. She slowly got to her feet; wincing in the process and bent nearly double; stumbled over to her brother slumped against the wall after managing to get him self halfway up. Blood was trickling from a cut to his head; and she checked to see if anything was broken; knowing that quite a few things were; his hisses of pain confirming them, but he was still there; if barely, how he managed to stay awake for that long was a mystery.

It was as she touched him that she felt it- she didn't know if he did, but it chilled her to the bone. A cold feeling sweep down her spine and settle in the hollow of her stomach, she shivered as she stood, cringing slightly as a loud cry echoed through her head-sensing raising the hairs on her neck and setting off her senses. She frowned and shook off the feeling; something prickling at the back of her neck. A feeling of dread settling on her shoulders at the same time. She hoped either her parents were doing better than she was or Max was at that moment.

"Fuck…he'll be back…and he'll be bloody pissed…this is the _last_ frigging time I go out with you." she grumbled.

"Why the fuck you have to get distracted…?" she ignored him. He bit back a curse as she heaved him upwards, grunting with the effort of putting his weight on her shoulders; waiting for him to partially find his feet. He knew she wasn't about to be all kind and sisterly.

"When we get home you are fucking well staying off of those Twinkies…you may be skinny but you are bloody heavy. Frigging twonk…," she added as an after thought. "You can bloody well explain to mum this time…not me I –"she was cut off as a howl cut through the night. They froze; whirling round to where they thought the sound came from. Sonia swore- this had been a distraction and now whatever it was they had been distracted for was coming. She hefted Max more securely round her shoulders.

"Come on, we need to move- quickly".


	4. Selene

_**From this chapter onwards the timelines might be a little unclear. The timelines are meant to be running parallel, but should straighten themselves out from at least chapter 8, I've spent all morning trying to sort them out, but it seems in following the actual storyline – plus adding an extra chapter, there is not much I can do…myeh.**_

_**Also i tend to randomly add updates to my livejournal before i actually do on here, so if it would help you can always check out my LJ first- just to make sure. Again, the link should be on my info page. **_

_**Thanks**_

_** Enjoy - and as i said before- I OWN NOTHING  
**_

**_xSWx _**

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**4.**

_You can close your eyes to reality, but not to memories._  
**Stanislaw J. Lem**

Her mind too overcome with grief, she had no time to register the emotions that passed fleetingly through her mind. She raged with passing memories that her grief stricken mind was now too tired to comprehend. She ignored the rising sun almost at her back, and sat with the now dead Michael in her arms, her mind hazy and in turmoil. Life itself was interminable and flighty; it came and went without care. She was a creature of death, of night, although now changed; but love bore no boundaries for death, it took no notice of the bonds of life and would not stop its course for matters of the heart.

Until Selene had met Michael, she had never really known what love was, she had felt fondness, felt a closeness – but she had never loved from the heart and now to loose it, was incomparable. The fact that both Vampires and Lycans mated for life was in ironic evidence now, a fact that she had never taken notice of. It seemed to her that at the mansion, there more often than not existed, the artificiality of relationships between vampires, and with trying to dissuade Craven's advances – everything seemed like a farce, a game, a struggle for power, instead of the real issue, dealing with the Lycans. With that stance, she slowly became more and more cynical and more and more involved in patrolling the city. Yet, cynical is the way she remained; she would not love, for loving, was a meaningless triviality.

Until she met Michael, She never really knew what it was that made her help him in the first place. She had always reasoned it was his look, which to her aged mind made her think of a lost puppy; one that was essentially, very dangerous. But to her, even from the look in his eyes, Michael seemed lost and alone in a world that was slowly slipping away from what he was used to. This look tugged at her somehow, she had always supposed that she had the same feelings, which in turn threw them together in a inadmissible entwining of lives and created a kinship between them that could not be ignored.

Either that or it was all sexual tension and she had no hope from the beginning

Granted their first kiss had been more out of necessity than anything had, she couldn't ignore that there had been something, strong enough to displace her self imposed solitude and make her want to help him.

Memories of running, fighting, endless fighting, times with Michael; his face, his eyes leapt out at her, until squeezing her eyes shut was almost all she could do to shut them out, shut out the overwhelming feeling of a brokenness, emptiness, anger and a loneliness, not so new but one she could not bear to feel.

Unbeknown to her however was the fact, that, doing that would throw her into madness,

Pain, swamped her heart, took her over completely and the chaos consumed her, a new rage seemed to fill her, rising steadily. Throw her into such disappear as to hide all sensibility she had, and ultimately making her the most dangerous force known to either vampires or Lycans. She bore no heed to the sun and forgot the pain that bit at her un-relentlessly.

She knew the reason why Michael was dead, and she would not rest until something had been done – both Vampires and Lycans would pay. Releasing the cold of the dead body almost carelessly she leapt to her feet; and began, to run.


	5. Flashback

**Disclaimer: Alll up to this chapter included and beyooond...i OWN NOTHING...i just like going along with whatever crazy direction my muse takes me...that and plot bunnies:D**

**Note: > - indicates mind speech ;) **

**5. **

Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet.  
**_Vietnamese Proverb_**

With every step, the immense pain seemed to double, as the renewed rain. She uttered a string of muted curses and adjusted the heavy weight on her side.

"Fuck this twin thing for a laugh," she said aloud, more to herself than anything else. Yet, it was a while before she noticed that Max had made no noise in response. But being as close as they were she still picked up his thoughts, but she knew he was trying to hide them from her. Her anger flared.

_ **>well, I'm sorry I didn't ask to be beaten to a pulp then hauled about by you. Neither did I wish to be a twin. So fuck you! ** _

His mind broke into hers almost mercilessly before he caught himself and pulled back. The empty, cold feeling accompanying his words, created a deep sense of unshakable self pity, remorse and doubt within her chest and she would have readily dropped him on the pavement; brother,_ twin_, or no. She would deposit his ass where they stood, and leave him to face the night but something stopped her.

It was her turn to catch herself before she did more damage; to what she felt was their combined cracked psyche. She halted shortly to gather her emotions; flicking aside a wet strand of hair which was tormenting her line of vision. She couldn't blame Max for his reactions; especially after her outburst. Knowing that she harboured deeper feelings than he had let slip, she decided to keep silent. However, it was more out of fear than anything, that stopped her from initiating an argument. Ever since hearing that screech in the night, it _was_ the night she was scared of and despite her current feelings

Since birth each had, had the other' minds closely impinged upon the others'. The enhanced skill, which applied to their enhanced, yet unknown physiology, had coupled their sensitive minds and senses. The circumstances of their birth only seemed to naturalise their unique skills. Making them in mind and likenesses almost inseparable (up until their mother decided to take it in hand, when Max had suffered a particularly uncomfortable and odd, pre-menstrual mood swing)

A part of her shut off the pain and sadness and hurt, that she felt both from herself and her twin, not wanting it to cloud her judgement. He twin sighed regretfully and she felt her anger flare. He treated her almost synonymously like a little sister, and she hated it. He was only older than she was by only two minutes, and yet he acted for the entire world as if it were a full two _years_.

"I'm sorry", he said abjectly realising by their stop, and she had heard what he had said. Sonia pretended like it didn't matter and he felt her shrug beneath arm. He now felt the cold brush off from his mind and had to quickly stop to prevent his personal self-rebuke; it wouldn't have helped them either.

"No, stop Sonia" he insisted attempting to pull himself free of her grasp. The weightlessness that came with the lack of support left him slightly unprepared. He had not realised how much he had needed her until he stumbled. Even as Sonia reached quickly moved to support him, he caught himself, yet he did not refuse her help; together they lowered him to the pavement. This wasn't the time to stop, on the wet pavement in the middle of the pouring rain, but he didn't care. He had no right to say what he did, but then again neither did she. But he knew his sister; she held highly the fact that they never held secrets from each other. Or try to disguise what they were saying when picking up the images of the others' thought, he knew she felt hurt at the way he had pushed her aside.

It was the same feeling he had felt when she had done the same thing.

"Max, what the hell…" she began wearily looking at him. Max found himself staring at a small drop of rain that was making its way down the bridge of her nose to its tip. He had to duck his head to prevent his laughter; and not let her see his smile.

"Sonia-" he began, once he was sure he had his voice under control

"-Couldn't it wait until…" Sonia interrupted tiredly

"Son…".

"Were almost home for Pete's sake-".

"Sonia…" he said tiredly, she ignored him "Max, you are such a ditz…it's raining, dear brother unless you haven't realised and our butts are getting wet, now if you don't mind I'd like to get ho-"

"SONIA!" he almost yelled, his voice an instant likeness to their fathers. Her crescendos tirade stopped almost immediately. She gave her brother a less than sisterly look. He belatedly remembered that there was something she hated just as much as secrets between them: being interrupted.

"WHAT? WHAT? What the fuck couldn't wait till we got home, eh Max!" She shouted at him grimacing. Her breaths came in short gasps; her pain only added to increase her temper. He stared at her a while. Her dark eyes blazoned with annoyance, but he read the fear and the pain behind it. She held her shoulders hunched, her whole body stooped. He had failed to notice the cuts that marred her skin, but now they stood out as clear as day in the darkness. He could see the trails of blood, like dark tears cascade down her face. She too had heard the cry, the same one that had made them unconsciously pick up the pace. As she met his gaze with a challenging one of her, own. He backed down dropping his gaze.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he muttered. Sonia stared at him quizzically, not hearing quite what he said. He looked back at her, the expression on his face unreadable, but the one in his eyes crystal. He forgot sometimes that she knew him better than he knew himself and visa versa. So it didn't take too long for it to dawn on her what he had said.

"Oh so help me…" she muttered, staring at back at him. She didn't realise she had hunched her shoulders beneath her jacket, until she felt herself relax. Her ribs panged at the expulsion of pent up air that went with it. She doubled over, tears coming to her eyes. She felt Max' hand on her back and the soothing thought waves he sent her way.

"I swear if you weren't my brother, I'd accuse you of being a wimp…," she muttered from where she rested her head on her knees breathing in deeply. She then reconsidered her statement and turned to give him a sidelong look. She said nothing for the moment but he felt the wordless- part acceptance of his apology. They both knew that his words had more of an affect on her than either was willing to admit.

"…nah…" she said smiling finally. It was a small smile, but did a lot to clear the air between them "… still think you're a wimp…and besides who would save your skin every time if I wasn't there" she bumped his shoulder regardless of the pain. He smiled, it faded quickly.

"You do not _save_ _my skin every time_…," he said seriously. She gave him one of her looks. It was the '_your chatting bullshit and you know it, so just own up' _one, of her famous looks, which managed to quell every emotion that was threatened to over come him. From the _'your treading on dangerous ground, so shut up and run'_ look, to the _'your being an ass, so shut up and run'_ look, or the _'you better start running, cos' your about to meet my fist' _look, among many others. Brother and sister they were, their minds making closer what their unique, unanimous birth's had. They were too alike they were in stark contrast. So it was when they fought; and like most if not all brothers and sisters, their arguments would revert, somewhere, to being solved with fists.

He remembered one of their first spats; when they were smaller and still living in the old Edwardian, two-storey building over on the outskirts of Orgodhaz:

_Sonia had been chasing him all through the house, screaming blue murder in their unintelligible language. It had taken their parents a while to catch up; being preoccupied in the computer room. The two had been hyperactive and irritable all day without knowing why. Waking up filled with an unknown but exciting energy; and being still young, their parents had not registered the effects that other factors might have had on them._

"I still haven't figured out why we still act that way" Sonia muttered. Max nodded. It had been a strange day. It was hot and muggy night. Their clothes stuck to their small frames as they stared out into the garden wishing that they could go outside into the cool night air. But their parents had strictly forbidden them to venture outside after dark. Max didn't quite remember how it had started. Only that somehow, he had ended up with a broken nose and two loose teeth. While Sonia had mysteriously attracted not one, but two, black eyes and a missing front tooth.

_They had finally managed to catch them, in the hall in front of the wide sloping stairs; each parent grabbing a twin before they could launch themselves at each other. _

_He felt his mother's firm grasp on his arms and looked up, breathing through his mouth. The pain from his nose made his eyes water, and he could feel the wet, sticky substance on his lips. He licked them, tasting the blood. But he looked his mother straight in the eye as she stared down at him. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, her face was mostly expressionless half the time; and the other seemed with a deep disappointment-which he always felt was directed at him. _

"_Would somebody care to explain" he heard her voice, above him authoritarian, yet soft. He saw her perfect teeth, with their sharpened canines flash in the light. He looked down, suddenly, immensely interested at the floor, his feet dirty from playing in the yard, the bug that was trailing lazily across the floor-basically anywhere but at his mother, his father or the accusing glare radiating from Sonia's small face. Her two small eyes were already becoming smaller, surrounded by two purpling bruises on either one. Blood poured freely down her front as he spied the gap between her two front teeth. He snickered. _

He head Sonia chuckle as she too shared the memory, he saw her touch her front tooth gently.

"Lucky for you it was a baby tooth dumbass" he ignored her comment.

_Sonia lunged for him her mind screaming at him in their own language, she nearly made it to him, her fingers poised for his throat. Their father had held her back; his blue eyes were impatient and seemed to dart around the room restlessly, catching his mother's gaze frequently. He himself was a stark contrast to their mother, his hair a light brown to his black, his eyes, blue-then green, then blue again; even his demeanour. Humorous and slightly laid back compared to their mothers. And it was he that spoke next out of the two. _

"_The both of you will stop this, now"_ _he growled sternly picking up the struggling Sonia and tucking her under his arm. They both fell silent; it was usually their mother who reprimanded them. Then as if they were two balloons the erratic energy in the two suddenly quenched by their father' ominous stare; he remember quelling at the look that flickered across their parents faces; and he could have sworn that for a moment in the darkening of their eyes-their parents' pupils faded briefly until they stared at their children with black, glittering eyes. _

_The smashing of windows above in the attic had then seen them banished to the basement..._

Max shook his head suddenly; clearing his head of all thoughts and looked at his sister who stared sadly into the rainy sky. He knew why. It had been the first of many attacks on their home, and the first of many homes. Always being displaced by danger.

He sighed; they were being stupid sitting here, but neither seemed to care or worry to move themselves. They were tired, aching, and hungry. He watched Sonia, her eyes were closed and she had her pale face turned up to the sky, the rain falling gently, making tracks down her cheeks and across her nose. At least she enjoyed the weather. He however, was beginning to feel slightly irritable.

He shook his head again following his previous train of thought, frowning as something prickled at the back of his mind. He spluttered momentarily realising what it was. Sonia's eyes snapped open and she looked at him quizzically; but he could only gape at her.

"What…what is it dammit?" Sonia questioned irritably. She inched her way into the first layer of his thoughts. She didn't seem to be getting much information and growled impatiently. It always seemed that Max thought much faster than most people. His mouth certainly moved faster than most, so it was only natural. The only bad thing was when she had to decipher anything from it. She usually ended irritable with a terrible headache, just from the effort.

"Oh, Fuck!" she stated once he had made some sense. He stared at her levelly before fear etched its way slowly across her features.

"Mum's sword…" they said unanimously.


	6. Two Hours Earlier

**Disclaimer: I do not own Underworld or any of the characters affilicated with it...** enojoy xXx 

6. 

"_The bird hunting a locust is unaware of the hawk hunting him"_

**_- Proverb_**

_**Two Hours Earlier…**_

Like a predator, she stalked the urban rooftops of Orgodhaz; without conscience, without feeling or rational consciousness. It wasn't necessarily appropriate, but what she considered appropriate no longer existed.

She took no notice of the buildings she passed as she leapt from house to house; her shadow dancing across the light of the moon in a storm-free sky. She stopped. A familiar scent filled her senses, narrowly sending her into frenzy: blood; newly split. The air was so thick with it; as to leave a lingering scent above all the other miasmas that occupied the city. It proposed a tenacious aura of conflict that beckoned both her and the city's more, proverbial residents. She ignored them, even though their senses seemed to mingle with her own, until it was as if she could see every inch of the city, every crevice, corner, dark alleyway.

She searched the night for any sign of life, her eyes blinking lazily in the dim glare of the moon. Suddenly, something caught her eye; one set of them anyway, and voice drifted back to her, she made a noise in her throat. It was a Lycan:

"…_when we get home you are fucking well staying off those Twinkies…you maybe skinny but you are bloody heavy..."_

Something uncomfortable in her stirred, and she saw the image of a female in her mind the average sized girl held up another and was slowly making their way out across the street. Her prey had made itself clear. Emitting a raucous banshee-like screech into the night, she leapt towards the ground.

The buildings, streamed past in loops of black and gold; their tinted windows displaying the animal within the hybrid that fell past them; displaying the madness that had befallen a lost soul; with eyes as black as its heart, full of pain, anger, loneliness and hunger. The kind of hunger that can only be felt once everything you have ever known has been torn from you. The kind of hunger that comes from losing your consciousness and falling into the blackest pits of despair; where the only end to it is tantalisingly out of your reach…death. One which can never come-not freely, not easily; because somewhere out of all that madness; you realise that you are dead already.

So it was a small section of her still active mind pressed her to remember at least but she pushed it aside. She needed to feed; and those in that street would suffice. She changed direction and instead of following the buildings down, now used them to follow the blood trail that now lead to the pair.

Selene hunted, and she would feed.


	7. Unarming Kraven

**7.** Sometimes it's worse to win a fight than to lose.  
**_Billie Holiday_**

"There's nothing for it, we have to go back." Max stated. Sonia nodded at him lazily in agreement. She fixed her surroundings with an heavy lidded stare, her eyes darting back and forth across the shadows from beneath her eyelids

"What?" Max said following her gaze, seeing nothing but darkness. "What is it?"

"We have company. Lots of them." She statedMax looked at her quizzically. His head snapped round as shadows flickered on the ground. He looked upwards at the street lamp dimming in the night.

'_Great, Sonia we won't be able to deal with this. We're exhausted. They'll kill us!'_

''_Ne'how' _she muttered her stance lazy and her shoulders slumped. He immediately felt her weight on his shoulders and realised that he was now holding her up.He instantly re-thought their situation. Her mind was tired,_ She_ was tired and the fact that she was acting stupid was grating on his already tenuously stretched nerves, something was definitely up.

'_What's going on with you!' _he hid his mind probe with his irritability for two reasons, both of which he was horrified to find were justified.

'_Never mind…'listen, we're exhausted. We've been fighting… I know that, you know that, they **don't** know that'_ she reassured him, sending waves of calm his way. He didn't mean to brush them aside, he was on edge, and he had to be. Her mind itself was dimming and becoming less reactive. The fact that he had dared to probe her mind, (something each had promised the other that they would never do without the others consent) didn't send her into fury, as it would have ordinarily done. It didn't mean he didn't flinch at the look she sent his way, it wasn't out fear. It was out of worry.

A light voice spoke up, breaking the silence descended upon them, sending shivers up the twins' spines. They could smell the wolfish scents in the air and the prickling of tension that shifted and wove in and out of the air.

"We saw you're little display earlier. Very impressive, not many can _unarm_ Kraven-" They didn't mistake the malicious glee that dripped from the words from the darkness

"Who are you…" Max said loudly stepping closer to Sonia "…Display, _that_ was a display? – I thought we were trying to save our necks" Max muttered loud enough for any sensitive ears, his taunt went ignored.

"…We wonder how you'll do against us" said another voice. This was becoming drastic, quickly. It was obvious to them that there were more bodies than there were voices. But where to place them?

"Who are you?" Max shouted, "What do you want?" he yelled, silence ensued. The rain had died down but the wind had not, and as the twins had chosen to sit in one of the leafiest places in Orgodhaz, the tactical advantage was against them. Not only did it mean that the leafy cover were sending crazy distorted shadows across the ground, making it harder to see; but the shadows from the trees and the trees themselves proved the perfect cover for an ambush.

"_We _are Lycans." A voice called out. "And we have come for you.-"

"Sheesh dramatic, much?" Sonia said inaudibly.

"…We know you have been fighting, against the Vampires…we mean you no harm" another said pointedly cutting across them both, seeming to want to appease the tension as quickly as possible.

'_You were saying!'_ Max' voice in her mind was seething.

'_Okay, okay… way to give a girl and mind ache. All we need is a distraction, get their attentions away from us and then we can make like the wind, or the rain…_she rambled on inside his head.

'_-Sonia, stop fucking messing around, this is no time to play silly buggers…Sonia!' _She wasn't listening and Max saw his sister sway slightly were she stood.

"Shit" he muttered. He had failed to take notice of anything else that had seemed to be bothering her, but now as he looked closely he noticed a darkening patch on her side.

"-we _would like_ to know that you'd come without needing restraints…or we might have to resort to certain measures…" the first interjected firmly.

"You and who's army? Oh you mean Rambo over there" Sonia smirked ignoring him, seeing someone or something in the darkness he couldn't. Max cursed.

'_Obviously that blood loss has gone to your head! Are you crazy! Stop fucking provoking them!'_ she ignored his mental outburst. Listening to the silence with her head tilted to one side.

"Oooo…so, you _did _mean Rambo over there…" she continued, at the silence. A dazed smile flitting across her face.

The Lycan that lunged out of the darkness was too quick for them to react to and before either could blink Max found himself, although he was quite tall, a good foot off the ground staring into the black eyes and long snout of a Lycan, fangs bared. His whole body screamed in agony, and he grunted in pain as he tried to twist the brute strength from off of his neck. But he couldn't move, he was too weak.

"What are you doing!" someone yelled "stop this at once! Marcus asked you to bring them to him _alive_"

"He didn't say they had to be _in one piece_, though did he," the Lycan proposed, snarling into Max's face. And he found himself grimacing. It wasn't the nicest thing in the world to have done to you; ordinarily he would have said the guy could have used some gum. Nevertheless, as a Lycan, the epitome of 'dog breath' came into strong description. This person could have used industrial sized Listerine.

If it weren't for the severe constricting grip the Lycan had around his throat, Max would have said as much. He then mentally shook his head, scratching that thought he must have lost as much blood as Sonia and he certainly didn't want to loose anymore.

The Lycan holding him growled, seeing his difficult expression. "Stupid brat" he muttered before raising his hand. Max stared at him as the fist was raised and then brought down on his neck. He was surprised to find that he felt a little sting, almost like-

'_SHIT…SONIA, RUN'_ he yelled to her as the darkness seeped on the edge of his awareness. He looked around wildly, his heart dropping to his stomach as he saw Sonia's already unconscious body and more importantly the dark droplets that dripped from her coat to the pavement.


	8. An old friend

8.

"Those who stare at the past have their backs turned to the future."  
**(anon)**

_** Selene...**_

Not knowing that her call had alerted her prey she hadn't noticed the buzzing in her ear until it had developed into a voice. It made her stop in her tracks, it broke into her mind, clearly and with great efficiency. She snarled and came to a stop on a wet, deserted street. The voice had grown stronger, in the instant, she had time to stop and listen, it intensified tenfold, manifesting itself into a loud buzzing, which reverberated behind her eyes and made her head tingle.

_ **Selene...**_

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the annoyance, but only succeeded in sending wet spray into her face. She snarled.

_ **come to me Selene…** _

She shook her head again. The buzz hadn't changed but she could feel that it was, now, something else entirely. The tingle had spread from her head to move slowly down her limbs, like an uncomfortable tickling sensation. She growled, with the tickling sensation came numbness. Something had managed to render her limbs useless, pressing a coercing calmness on her mind in order to then propel her forward into movement.

_ **Hear me Selene…breaks away from this tenuous hold…** _

Something screamed at her to resist, made her remember her thirst; so much so that she snapped out of it. Roaring to the night sky, she shed the feeling that had entrapped her limbs. It could not get her that way. Or she thought.

_ **Hm. very well. If you insist… suit yourself-** _

She had not expected the blackness to assail her, or the heaviness to weigh so heavily upon her shoulders making her stumble, backwards tripping over the edge of pavement, and slamming her forcefully into the cold concrete. She felt her head hit the pavement; she saw stars, but at least parts of her reasoning, conscious mind had returned. She stared up with cold black eyes. Her blue, mottled skin slicked by the rain.

Her sense found his smell before he entered her vision and emitted a roaring growl

"Hello to you too, Selene…it's been a long time."He smiled down at her.


	9. Oh, the Irony

**Authors Note: **Okay, so i have no excuses...holds up white flag...well apart from a few...but they're lil' HONEST... My muse for this story has gone on holiday...and i lost interest and time...even though i managed to watch both Underworld and Underworld 2 (and the story will not change) but i now have two chapters as a peace offering!! This was originally meant to be a re-write with updates...only the updates never really happened... :S so i apologise to you guys...if there is anyone left still reading this...heh ¬¬' for the abysmally long time it took me to get both this chapter and the next out...without even a note or anything.  
I will admit this was a bit rushed, so not as good or developed towards the end as i would like... but i will re- edit when i get the time...  
But THANK you too EVERYONE who has reviewed this so far, thank you ALL for your wonderful comments...if anything i will try and keep this going for you guys and i PROMISE!, that the chapters will be more regular from now on...

Oh, and if there is anyone from my reviewers who has the time and could AND would like to beta some of my stuff...please, please, please let me know:) thankies x SW

**Disclaimer: I do not own Underworld or any of the characters. The story concept is mine and so are the characters of Max and Sonja...**

**9.** _**A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished."**_

_Friedrich von Schiller_

* * *

"Hello to you too, Selene…it's been a long time."He smiled down at her...

* * *

A part of her wanted to rip his face to shreds; just to get rid of that sardonic smile. But she couldn't move, and it angered her sensibility even more, to know that it was because of him. She felt slightly giddy, his face blurred in front of her, the rain falling into her eyes. 

She watched him, her eyes darting across his face; his features animated for a thousand year old vampire: He had a thin, angular face, low brow, straight pointed nose, and small chin encumbered by a small mouth and deep, still, green eyes which glinted in the light; hinting at an aged lifetime. His face looked youthful; not much older than twenty-nine and yet, looking closer it held an oldness. The way he looked at the woman before him gave her the sense that he looking right through her. His wavy red and beard hair shone in the light from the lamps. He looked…different; something seemed displaced about him, slightly off centre… but she didn't care. A look flickered across his features. Pity? She growled again and strained against whatever hold he had placed upon her.

"Quiet Selene" he mumbled imposing his command on her mind forcefully. But the aged elder still had much of a tenuous hold on his own new consciousness, his memories, and his strength. Forced into a new world, the new leader had, had little time to reassert his power. So it didn't come as too much of a surprise when she broke his hold and leapt for his throat. He batted her aside easily, flinging her into a wall. His green eyes flashed in the night as she twisted mid-air and launched herself back at him, using the wall as an extra foundation. She flew into his stomach, the both of them sent flying in a tangle of coats, arms, legs, hands- each desperately clawing, pushing against the other, punching out each trying to connect with the others' body. He grunted as has his torso slammed into the ground, effectively winding him, Their combined momentum, eventually stopped, she was still trying to grab for his throat. Pushing her off of him, he quickly flipped onto his feet; where she landed on the floor in a heap. He staggered up, coat torn, cut on his brow and his lip split. He swiped the blood from his mouth.

"Well I can't say I wasn't expecting this" he mused to himself

Over millennia ago he was considered the greatest, equal to none.Over millennia ago his victories won him fame, his deeds, repuation. Over millennia ago, even when he had been turned into a creature was, now, wholly different. Now, wholly powerful.  
In over a millennia that had now changed. Never In over half a millennia, was he losing as badly as this.

Selene picked herself up somewhat unsteadily and stared at him with cold eyes, he stared at her trying to gauge what she was going to do but was startled at what he saw in her eyes: Madness. With eyes as black as a heart full of pain, anger, loneliness the kind that can only be felt once everything you have ever known has been lost with nothing to console you - where the only thing in this world is tantalizingly out of your reach, and death has already been taken, because you are already dead.

Suddenly her body jerked forward, twice as if she was hit from behind. He watched as her eyes slowly dimmed as she fell to her knees.

"You didn't have to do that you know" he muttered chagrined. The tall, hulking figure standing behind the now fallen figure of Selene holstered the tranquiliser gun and moved forward without an answer. He bent slightly and lifted Selene easily into his massive arms.

"Selene, Selene, Selene…what _has_ happened" he said to himself pensively.

Over millennia ago...looking down he sighed briefly, any chance of his suite being repairable after this fight with Selene, was slim.

He pushed a dirty, bloodied hand through his hair and looked around him. She had disappeared after throwing him to the ground, probably to go and tend to her own wounds and resume a fresh attack. But the funny thing was, she wasn't trying to kill him- he didn't think so at least. Even in her crazed state, some form of tenuous rationality existed, and it was that rationality that he had to get through to before it was too late and it disappeared and then, before Selene decided he was better off dead.

He stretched clicking out the kinks in his neck and back and suddenly felt all of his many, many years - so much for being an Elder and a hybrid to boot. He remembered the instant he was awake, the moment that fiery blood raced into his veins, and with it the memories.

The memories.

Dark alleyways, equipment, bright neon lights, he thought he would go mad with blaze of knowledge that laced through his mind. Of science, medicine, torture- the things that lycans had done to vampires and Lycans alike had made him sick.After being awakened to this strange new world without the memories of the elders, he had been set adrift he had not known what had happened in the decades that he had been asleep and if he was honest he was lucky to be standing there at all. 'but' he mused as he clicked his neck again, he did not appreciate being thrown around like a rag doll- no matter what state he was in.  
Marcus remembered the looks on the faces of those gathered round him and seeing even in their eyes what he had become and finally learning that he had awoken in the form a hybrid. Those that were serving him now.

He smiled slightly, irony was wonderful sometimes.


	10. Premonitions

**10.** …The feelings disappear, You are someone else, I am still right here…And you could have it all, My empire of dirt…I will let you down…  
I will make you hurt…  
**Johnny Cash – Hurt**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own underworld, I just use the ideas to further my own: P**

'_Maaaaax…maaaax…_

'_Wakey, Wakey…'_

'_Hellllooo...twin to space cadet…twin 1 to space station Maaaaaaxweeelll!'_

_- Shift your lazy arse!'_

He awoke and shifted with a grunt, but didn't open his eyes. He felt Sonia move next to him.

'_Finally…you were on my arm…' _she huffed. Max ignored her.

Something shifted behind his eyelids, left, right, right left, light, and then dark; like some ominous ticking clock. He shifted his head slightly; it was still there, slowly filtering its possessiveness over his brain like a wire, cutting its way into his resolute, sleepy awareness. He opened disgruntled eyes to stare at the light swinging innocently back and forth For the moments that passed, he was lost, weightless, and serene, in the twilight of semi-consciousness. Peaceful.  
He listened to his heart, its slow rhythmical beating, the faint dum-dum of that slight, clock rhythm, echoed in his ears, and behind it- one that matched his, beat for beat. His sister's - so familiar and yet so new. It was like the slow ever-purposeful trickle of honey into a cup. It was so reassuring, so unfailing so, consistently accurate, that in a world where he had never properly known any 'normalcy'; that second beat was it. The continuation of their heartbeats together was the first thing he had ever remembered being conscious of, and, he was sure, the last thing he would.

An amused chuckle broke into his pensive musings '_You know, you can be quite poetic when you think no one can hear you…' _

'_shut up Sonia- who asked you'_

'_well someone's grumpy'_ Her voice sounded amused. Her voice had gently prised its way into his hazy brain, making silver tendrils dance across his closed eyelids. A sharp tingling sensation down his spine following in her wake heralded the drugs' effectiveness finally wearing off. He twisted his gaze to look over at her, her dark cobalt eyes locked onto his.

"Where are we" he spoke out loud after a few moments, his groggy mind taking a few moments to allow him to form the words properly.

'_We're being watched you know?'_

Sonia spoke. "Warehouse…industrial district… and you talk to loud…" she whispered quietly. "It _is_ cold you know" she muttered shortly. Max sighed and exhaled a breath gently feeling his ribs protest. Wherever Sonja had taken them took no pains to find beds for them. "Nice" he muttered shifting until he could stare up at the great expanse of rafters, machinery and chains above them.

'_Yup…what is it? Seven…ten?'_

'_Seven…fancy the odds?'_

'_No, I'd rather go back to sleep'_

'_What! Why…Max!?'_

'_They can probably hear us, go figure. And they are armed, we, are not. They could have taken us by now…now goodnight' _

Max heard Sonja sigh softly beside him, and shift slightly before settling. He had been dreaming before he awoke. A violent dream, dark and in bits and pieces – but it was already dropping like a stone through his awareness. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate.

"_RUN!…"_

The shout echoing through his mind made him jolt and his eyes snapped open.

"Wha…what?" he said to the air.

Next to him Sonia frowned and turned to face him. "I didn't say any- shit…" Max lay ramrod straight, staring up at the ceiling, his eyes unblinking yet moving from left to right rapidly.

_"GET OUT OF HERE..._" he hissed hoarsely the voice not his own.

"Max!" she cried urgently trying to drag herself closer towards him, her whole body protesting, she touched his face- he was ice cold. His whole frame suddenly buckled as if shot by an electric wire.

"MAX! listen to me! MAX!" but Max didn't respond.

"Shit...MAX!..SOMEONE HELP!..DAMMIT!..." she screeched, half for herself and half for him, pulling herself up painfully she tore off the jumper she wore and placed it behind his head. The sudden cold sent Goosebumps up her skin.

"HEY YOU BASTARDS!!…HELP HIM! I KNOW YOU CAN SEE US DAMMIT! I NEED HELP!" she focused back on her brother, a thin sheen of sweat covered his face and neck. She grabbed his hand.

"Max…if you can hear me…stay here okay…stay with me…"

_"...AMBUSH" _he hissed again

"_Max…stay HERE…Maaaax!!…" _

_"...death eaters..." he heard the whispers by his ear. He swore blithely surprise edging its way onto his features, loading another round into the chamber of the gun in his hands and fired off into the night. A green a flare caught his attention as he raced forwards out of the dark tunnels. He smirked, 'the cavalry'. Guns echoed around him, footsteps, clips rattled as they fell to the ground. The sounds seemed hollow, fleeting: dead, to his ears. He could see her in front of him, black coat billowing out against the light of the moon, the clouds moving ever closer. Sending the hail of rain toppling down upon thier heads. _

_How could they have been so betrayed? They had taken every precaution! His own fears screamed at him… He had taken every precaution. He could feel the presence of the others close at his back. The shapeless menacing figures were all around. Their energy, their scent was everywhere and it was almost, overpowering. He snarled, the feral noise reverberating in the back of his throat and felt the first echoes of bones snapping, skin expanding before he was stopped...he heard the shouts too late..._

_He felt the dead weights as they slammed into his torso launching him forwards. the ice cold cutting into his flesh to be quickly replaced by a swift burning sensation that cut into his awareness like knives through oil. His world exploded in a fiery, red hot pain that shot through his very veins. It was as if his skin itself was peeling away. The dry scream tore from his throat as he felt himself being torn from literally the inside out; nothing could have prepared him for the pain he now felt, it was worse, even in his half changed state...the liquid fire that had now replaced his blood. With every beat brought it closer to his heart, delving deeper into his core. Gasping, he tore at his face, his hair, his very skin, feeling the sharp coldness of the earth as he tried to rid himself of the blistering agony. But it was of no use. _

_It was then he saw her face. Felt her touch, heard her silent call of his name, her words that didn't reach his ears, he felt his body writhe in pain… he wished he could say something, anything, to let her know he'd be okay, but all of the words faded in the pain- they all sounded silly inside his head anyway… He could taste the blood on his tongue, both from his and what she tried to give him…anything that would help._

_But he pushed that aside. Images flashed through his mind, her, their children…no. No matter how silly it sounded he needed to tell her_

'_I Love you' _

---------------

**Authors Notes:**

**I know, i know i was meant to post this with chapter 9 and it is kinda short...but it escaped...litterally! Lost the whole thing for bout an hour...had to go through my computer looking for it...heh. But here it is! - I had planned, once i reached chapter 10 to go through all my reviews and 'viewers and say thank you and then carry on through every 10...(okay so it was going to be a lost post anyway :D)... obviously chapter 10 was meant to be up a lot quicker than it has been...but i hope to still do it now and then reply back to reviewers properly...if i still have any...:) **


	11. Illusions

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own underworld, I just use the ideas to further my own: P  
**

"_It takes a lot to wound a man without illusions_"  
_Ellis Peters quotes_

**11.**

**_With a jolt, he came to lying flat, his heart kick starting a thumping rhythm in his chest. He breathed deeply in and out trying to get his bearings looking around wildly expecting to see the night sky but instead his eyes locked onto white walls, and a ceiling made of glass… Glass?- was this some twisted afterlife experience?  
Feeling himself under control, he moved to rise. Where was he? The feel of starched, fabric against his skin caused him to look down at white surgical clothing of trousers and tunic he wore. Everything was white, metallic, and devoid of life, well all except him, but he wasn't sure if he was even alive still. _**

_**He narrowed his eyes as something shifted out of the corner of his eye…his hands. He looked down at his them, they seemed normal enough. He flexed them experimentally, and jumped as they suddenly distorted in front of his eyes. He looked around, to the floor, the ceiling, the white walls without a door and finally back to him. He walked over to one of the walls and rested his hands on the cool surface, there was a noise coming from behind it. He narrowed his eyes and tapped twice, the wall tapped back. He raised an eyebrow- this wasn't funny, yet someone seemed to find this all a joke. He tapped again, and there were three more taps in return. As he was going to tap once more, the wall tapped first, slightly at first, then more then it became a loud continuous thud.**_

_**He had enough, stepping back he raised a fist and brought it down on the wall with a sharp crack, he did it again and again. On the third time his hand stuck "what the…" he wrenched his hand back and was sprayed in face with some kind of water. Water sounded behind him and looking down he suddenly felt water at his ankles. **_

**_A noise suddenly pierced the air, a siren, loud, excruciatingly loud. He dropped to his knees trying to cover his ears, but the sound seemed to assault his very nerves; setting his whole body alights. He felt the blistering heat running through his veins again; the pain leaving him gasping. The room shifted in front of his gaze, he blinked as it switched from clear to distort. The water level around him began to rise too rapidly. He ran to the other side of the wall, trying to see where the water was coming from, but there was nothing._**

_**Before he knew it the water was up to his neck, he had to actually swim to try and keep himself afloat. He desperately grabbed at the walls, but he couldn't see where the water was coming from. He tried the walls again, hoping to break a large enough hold in them to swim through but only more water entered. Breaking the surface, he only had inches of space left to take a breath. He took a final lungful of air and went down…**_

**_He jolted into reality, scrabbling against the weightlessness of water, looking around, he noticed tubes, lots of tube, coming out of his arms, legs, and breathing deeply he tried to get his heart back to some sort of rhythm again. He moved to take them out, feeling chains rattled against his skin restricting his movements. He looked as something tapped in front of him. Eyes stared down at him from behind goggles. White coats glistened in their newness. Something was around his nose and mouth helping him to breathe, he could smell, the acrid smell of hospitals, sterilization, and medicine in the air. He should know, he spent enough time in them._**

**_Blue nametags glared at him distorted in the water 'ORGANIX' rose in harsh green letters. He put his hand out to grab one of them and demand to know where he was. But he touched glass instead; confused he pulled his hand back. In an instant he had slammed his fist against it. The nametags moved to one side, and another approached, he saw the glint of a needle and felt one of the tubes in arm shift. Realisation dawned on him. _**

"_**NO!" he echoed in a silent scream…**_

_---------------_

"NO!" He awoke with a cry, gasping for breath he sat bolt upright as he tried to get air back into his lungs.  
"Easy Max, Easy…just breathe...MAX!" a familiar irritated voice brought him back to his senses.

"Sonia!…did they…where are…"looking around he caught a glimpse of grey walls, before reverting his gaze back to Sonia's worried face, her eyes were bright in the dim light.

"Max…MAX!" she commanded. He looked at her eyes wild "Calm down, I'm fine and I'm here…what in hell just happened" she said softly, her fingers lightly combed his hair back from his face. He could already feel his limbs getting heavy again.

"I don't know, I don't know" he repeated dazedly, his eyes suddenly snapped to hers "Sonia I…saw…"

"It's okay Max...don't worry about it…we're okay…just get some sleep yeah?" she said soothingly ignoring his protests. He continued to look around.

"Hey!" her hands on his cheek brought his attention back "…we're okay. I'm okay- it was just a dream…yeah?" she said

"Yeah" his reply was inaudible as his eyes slowly drifted closed again.

-------------

_**His last thoughts were of her. Her face. **_

_---------------_


	12. Twelve in all

**Disclaimer: I do not own Underworld, only the characters i have created. **

**- ** It takes all the running you can do just to keep in the same place.

**Lewis Carroll, _Through the Looking-Glass_, 1872**

**12.**

Sonja exhaled sharply, her body protesting; she rubbed her face tiredly with one hand while thumping the floor with the other. Her whole body seemed to relax as her twin settled back down fall asleep. She had watched helplessly, almost sensitively feeling all that he felt, yet while he gone into a fit, there was nothing she could do. There was nothing she could ever do; only this time he had then started talking, angry whispers, sometimes yells, but they were all to do with something about an ambush.  
Sonia lay her head back down onto the cold flagstones where they lay. She had no idea where they were or what was going on, but there was an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach and she didn't think things were going very well.

There was a sudden sound to her right. A door creaked. She was up in an instant, dragging Max with her with a grunt, hiding him behind a line of barrels over to their right. As she painfully crouched next to his body, she heard heavy footfalls and hushed voices as they entered. She closed her eyes and stilled herself, relying on her senses to guide her. As she listened counted seven pairs of feet, and as she opened her eyes, she seemed to see- vividly not only every inch of the room, but at least four more bodies standing outside. She inhaled sharply and pressed herself tighter against the barrels as someone walked past-_eleven!- eleven in all and Max out cold…bloody brilliant that was!'_  
Sonia slowly, biting her lip near bloody; as her whole body protested; edged further towards the end of the line and peered out, she would have to think of something and fast. Looking around hurriedly, she spotted the cranes silently stoic in the dim corners of the room; their chains dangling lifelessly from square pins and silver mesh. Sonia smiled to herself, she had an idea.

The first load of chain was released with less than a slight tinkling sound into the first pair that had split from the group effectively knocking them unconscious. Sonia carefully clambered down from some metal crates and knowing that the others were bound to hear the noise and come running, deftly pocketed both the semi-automatic handguns.

'_Now for the others' _she said grimly.

Sonja sighed brief moments later, looking down at the next three fallen men at her feet, five out of the seven. And she hadn't even lifted a boot; she glanced upwards where various chains and a crane stood above her head all in varying states of use. She glanced down at the men it wasn't many, and it wouldn't last- but at least she had worked quickly she'd have to hoped it'd buy her enough time to get both her and Max out of there. Rounding the corner of crates as she went back to fetch Max, she cursed and ducked back. Two of the men had obviously found him and had dragged him out into the centre of the room. Sonja narrowed her eyes in thought, if there was a way…she looked up catching glimpse of how far up the crates went. If she could climb high and fast enough to be able to get across to the other side of the room she could surprise them. She began to climb, precariously balancing on the stacks trying to keep her breathing level and steady and trying her hardest not to either stop, fall or concentrate on the pain radiating around her. Minutes later she had crept round the other side of the barrels. Only one of the guards now stood with her brother. Sonja looked around and catching sight of some empty barrels quickly and quietly; with what strength she had left rolled and pushed them noisily over sending them careening into a wall.

Taking her chance as one of the guards moved off to check the noise she quietly moved over to the guard watching her brother and aimed the semi automatic at his torso, just below his ribs. "Move and you die" she hissed, releasing the safety catch on one handgun, she felt rather than saw the other Lycan suddenly approach her left side. Swiftly she brought out the other, aiming directly for his chest, he stopped.

She hadn't counted on that and now; she was surrounded by less than friendly looking men. "Fuck" she muttered. Both handguns pointed at either Lycan, she dared not shift her stance next to her brother. The world around her tensed and Sonja tried her best to keep her gaze and her conscious pinned on all of those around her, she was acutely aware however of the number of firearms pointed at her chest. She tried to calm her breathing, but all the movement had made her body scream with pain and her heart thunder in her chest. She tried to concentrate, blinking sweat out of her eyes she felt her throat constrict and tried desperately to calm herself, taking and releasing a shallow breath she focused her mind on the room, the breathing of each of the men, which aches and pains she had caused the few she had managed to get to, she tensed as suddenly she heard a whizzing noise from above and too late felt a stinging sensation in her neck, she put her hand up to feel the dart and pulled it up to stare at it's blurry surface, she was instantly drowsy. "You bastard-" she half cursed the dark haired figure that stood on the rafters, before the world span; the grey floor rose up to meet her before darkness crowded her vision. There were _twelve_ in all.

­­

They had brought the two bundles before him, in the study dripping with rain and badly beaten and bruised. From what he heard they had, had a tough fight. He looked pointedly at the lycan in front of him.

"We tried to get there before anything happened, but they had already dealt with Kraven by the time we could do anything…then they ran to the warehouse" His eyebrows rose slightly in surprise "Kraven" he said thoughtfully "On their own?"

A nod; "On their own; no intervention and she was the one who actually took his hand off…took out five of my men too…" his eyebrows rose further as the leader, Blake shifted slightly beneath his gaze he looked to the girl "hmm…well there's no doubt now… patch them up quickly and put them in the holding cells…preferably before they both bleed to death- I'll have to deal with them later" he said. The Blake bowed, took up both unconscious figures and walked off to the infirmary.

Marcus went over to his desk, cluttered with papers, newspaper clippings. He had written to them, warned them. It was unfortunate that things had already been set in motion, but that he could no help. He had to do what he could to preserve what was left.

She awoke suddenly feeling the morning light on her face. On opening her eyes the bright glare only made to send tendrils of shooting pain through her skull, she quickly shut them again and buried her face the pillow she was resting on, the pillow itself happening to be Max's torso. She took a deep breath, very sure at this moment in time that she had definitely been hit in the head by a sledgehammer. A big one. On taking the time to reassess her surroundings regarding her and her brother, she realised the room itself seemed smaller and raised her head slowly, cursing to the depths of hell the person, who decided to put them in a cell with one window and no curtains. Sonja raised her head and looked at her brother, now sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling equally in rhythm. She breathed a sigh of relief, '_he's alright…at least he's alright'_ she said. But even with that reassurance a deep sense of foreboding raced along her spine. A niggling feeling in the back of her head; something wasn't right. She slowly levelled herself up grabbing a blanket from one of two beds that stood side by side. The bed had looked slept in and Sonja figured she must have somehow slept walked over to Max. She couldn't remember a thing. Wrapping the blanket around her shoulders she went to sit over on a stool in the corner. Something wasn't right, but she didn't know what it was. And it was a bad something.

It took him a while to regain consciousness; and he regretted the fact when he did. He shortly opened his eyes "Shit!" he said loudly before slowly coming to the realisation was that he probably couldn't see; not because he had gone blind but by the fact that it was dark wherever he was and he had not obviously, gotten used to the lack of light yet.

He went to sit up; a pain akin to being hit by something very heavy, exploded from behind his eyes, his shoulders, arms, waist; practically everywhere. It's reasonable to say he didn't stay upright for very long.

"Ahh…ow…ow…OW…fucking hell…OW…" he said kneading his eyes with the palm of his hands and breathed deeply waiting for the pain to pass. His shoulders and quite a few places around his torso and arms felt bulky and yet dull. Keeping his eyes closed he prodded the back of his head and his ribs with one hand; hissing as a sharp pain shot across them.

When he did finally open his eyes and went to sit up, he noticed that they had been moved, for wherever it was they now were had beds. And not only had his various wounds been bandaged, but the pain, had gone slightly once he started moving. He seriously contemplated then simply rolling over and off the bed.

Meanwhile staring out of the only window in the room, on her bunk sat Sonia. She completely ignored him for the moment, more intent on staring out into the slowly darkening twilight.

"How are you feeling?" she said suddenly.

"Like I ran into a brick wall…you?"

"Tired…shot me with something and I was out…they brought us here…" she shifted her gaze to look at him.

"At least it's warm" he commented dryly looking at the window. Dark walls, and ceiling, much smaller and cleaner _with_ beds "I wonder if this is how they treat all their guests"

"Something's wrong Max, I can feel it…" She dropped her gaze and looked at him with a puzzled frown.

"Yeah I know what you mean…" he swung his legs over the low bed, pressing a hand to his ribs to dull the shooting pain.

"It's something bad…"

"I think we've clarified that, Son"

"Max…" she admonished, but her heart wasn't in it. Gingerly, he got to his feet; going over to her he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave them a reassuring squeeze. He looked out at the stars

"I don't know Son; everything _I_ saw was hazy and dim…but I'm sure it'll be alright…whatever it is... eventually… i promise" he said reassuringly, but whether or not it was more for himself or her he didn't know. He tried to remember what it was he saw before, but everything was wherewithal, nothing made sense, yet there was something the name Organix was still there he frowned – if he even closed his eyes he could see the green tags still glaring down at him. "Organix…" he muttered to himself.

"What?"

"The name Organix…when I was, well…out…I saw the name Organix, it sounds familiar. You remember anything?"

"no, but it sounds familiar…wait!...wasn't there something on the news yesterday about it…just some big business…something about profits…can't remember"

"Organix Corp…yeah, they were doing something to the local land…something about mining – I remember you're crazy eco-friend Angela screeching about it"

"Angela's not crazy…just slightly eccentric" Sonia huffed He smiled slightly and sat down on the bed grimacing slightly as the movement sent jarring pain through his muscles.

"If you…saw something to do with them, do you think it's them who have us?" Sonia wondered looking up at him

"Possibly…" he ventured "… but, they've kept us together so far…if they wanted us for something they might have separated us- _and _not bandaged us up" Sonia nodded. "true…but then what are we doing here and _why _were Lycans sent after us?

"…not sure, but something tells me our parents might be involved somehow…remember that crazy sect a couple of years ago who thought Dad was the new messiah" Sonia groaned and laughed out loud at the memory.

"I remember mum's face when she found out…I also remember sneaking out then too…" she punched him suddenly. He winced "OW! What the _hell_ woman! I'm still injured remember?"

"I'll give you injured … why is it every time I listen to one of your plans, something always happens!?" He muttered something along the lines of "well you don't have to…" and scowled at her "Well, what do you suggest we do?" he asked matter-of-factly.

"…I don't know-"

"-So, we wait" Max said resolutely and stretching out carefully on her bunk. Sonia sighed and thumped his leg. He swore at her and rubbed the aching appendage. She gave him a level state

"No…we _don't_ wait…we might not have a plan but I suggest you get off your lazy arse and help me think of something"

"Painful arse..._painful_, not laz-" he stopped as the floor beneath them began to shake and the sound of grating stone echoed around them, he swung his legs off the bed.

"…seems we might not have to think of anything…" he commented. In a second Sonja was on her feet glaring at the slowly opening door, Max remained where he sat not having the strength to do much else but glare accordingly too.


	13. Enemies and Friends Pt 1

**Title**: Even in Death  
**Author**: twilightplotbunny (jeraldaadine - LJ)  
**Characters, Pairing**: Max, Sonia (OC's), Kraven, Marcus, Selene, Michael, other OC's and other characters that I may have forgotten or haven't mentioned yet  
**Rating**: T/M  
**Summary**: A new threat and an old enemy. Michael Corvin is missing, presumed dead; Selene mourns in a dark madness. The worlds of their children just got a little bit more complicated.  
**Warning**: Here there be swearing, violence, some mention of gore and physical bodily harm.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Underworld, any of its affiliates, storyline, movie rights, scripts, dialogue, or characters...nada – I don't even have the DVD- a failing, I know

_**AN:**_ With thanks and much love to my reviewers-if you are still out there, cheers for the awesomeness of sticking through till now. Sorry this took so long, I had wanted this out of the way by the time the second film came out (which would then kind of make this, an AU? I'm guessing) however life, for a better summing up, got in the way. BIG TIME.  
~ Oh and I'm looking for a beta. As this has shown I need someone, _with a lot of patience, _ who is willing to nudge me every so often and demand I write something- even if it's just a paragraph and then be good enough to put up with my rambling sprawling, nonsensical ideas for things while I try to shape them into coherency ~

* * *

~ When a sinister person means to be your enemy, they always start by trying to become your friend. –William Blake ~

* * *

There was nothing to do but wait. It seemed like an age was passing slowly before them- felt like it too- as they stood there, tensed, ready for something to spring out at them from behind the wooden frame. They each knew that they wouldn't be at full strength for a full on fight, but they would manage, they'd do enough. It was almost startling then when the door fully swung open that it did so on quiet hinges, they were expecting a loud ominous echoed creak that seemed to accompany all old doors, the lack of noise almost made it worse, especially as the doorway then proved to be empty. The twins shared a confused tense glance; Sonia reading that Max felt that this was as spooky as the time their dad took them to that haunted mansion theme park ride and her heart jolted inside her chest at the thought.

Their _parents_. Who knew where they were now, or what had happened; after Max's _episode_ there was nothing else for her to go on, apart from the fact that one or both of them were in dire trouble- she refused to even acknowledge the more than slight possibility that they –more likely her _father_- were dead. She felt a hand reach out and take hers squeezing gently, reassuringly and a soft reassuring glide of pressure that swept across her mind. Max smiled at her gently;

_Don't...worry...sis... _

The words were whispery and she imagined that if they were ever tangible outside their minds, at that moment, they would resemble silvery smoke.

Sonia had always been what she liked to term '_projector´ _out of the two- able to voice her thoughts and ideas across large distances in order to reach her twin. Max was what she termed a '_deflector´- _not so much shielding his mind from others and others from his mind –including Sonia- though he could do that too and was doing that now as a precaution, but Max had a way of seeing what was in others' minds, and, in cases where, perhaps they had , had to run or hide from whatever or whoever it was that were chasing them(as hectic and unknown as their lives got at any one moment) Max was able to divert attention away from them, _literally_ deflect their whole sense, thought pattern, ideas, away from the family. He had tried it on her one too many times and he knew it irked her, after one particularly vehement argument and loud note of dislike against him doing that, Max had stopped. But she knew that sometimes, with being a twin, with being such close siblings, Max had to fight for his own private peace. Though Sonia knew her brother loved her dearly, being an all out satellite dish had its downsides. She squeezed back tightly before leaving his side and edging closer to the door cautiously with Max close on her heels, keeping, eyes, ears and mental faculties on the lookout. Nevertheless, what happened next still took her by surprise, and even Max's warning tone of "Fuck! Sonia!" did nothing to prepare her.

It so happened that as soon as she crossed the threshold, there was a sudden rush of sound and images and a voice pierced its way into her mind, she heard Max let loose a vicious hiss behind her as she stumbled forward in surprise, bracing herself against a wall on the opposite side to the door. Max gripped her shoulder, helping her lower herself to the floor as the pain of someone edging, no, more like _gouging,_ their way into her mind so suddenly it was as if she had been violently clubbed upside the head; it left her legs feeling weak and the world spinning and titling like she had ingested too much wine. She felt her brother throw himself into his own mental barriers bringing them to the forefront, while reinforcing her own- it was why the voice, while so clear at first, came out so whispery and broken as if coming through a load of radio static.

_-Corvin...Miss Corvin...I... glad... to see you are awake...once you are...able...the east wing...library...if...please...not to...escape...I assure you...you...won't....too far _

And suddenly the voice stopped, and the world around her returned to normal, well as close to the usual as it got at that particular moment. Sonia release a breath she didn't realise she was holding and focused her gaze on Max who looked decidedly pissed: whoever it was that had them incarcerated was strong, and once she had gotten past the seeming all consuming anger that raced across her brother's mind and the multitude of creative swearing(Max did not take kindly to such wanton invasion of people's privacy) she read from him that they could either go against the given advice, which was always preferable, or listen and see what this was all about. Given their situation, she mused, trying to get her bearings, the latter might be safer- for once.

"Some rush huh?" she said out loud and rather giddily as if encompassing their situation and potential future plans, and her brother's gaze was one that read and felt that the situation was neither amusing nor exciting.

She felt him slowly, cautiously; lower their combined barriers, all the while tense and ready to send them up at a moment's notice, and all the while keeping a firm lock on his own. He helped her off the floor as much as he could and she brushed herself off as much as she could; they were almost back to their usual selves, allowing for slight twinges of pain here and there.  
They had always been fast healers, and it was always at some point or another that bandages, just like now, became bulky and restrictive. They paused in an effort to peel off and divest themselves of the wrappings that were no longer useful, their wounds already healed or in the process of doing so. They did so quickly and with an air of detachment, having gotten used to the sight of dried blood and browning bandages years ago and Max waited patiently while Sonia underwent testing and stretching both sets of their once hurt muscles and bones, making sure bruises were beginning to fade; and held no nasty surprises, and that fractures and other damage was healing correctly and aligned: it wasn't as if he was inept in any way at doing it himself, it was just out of the two of them, Sonia had clearly inherited their fathers way with healing, and wanting to heal people. She methodically removed the last of the bandages- along his arm- while checking that cuts and were in no danger of reopening,

_that's going to scar... _her voice remarked to him about the wound that had been patched up on said arm, it was a long jagged, deep slash that went from the top of his shoulder to the crook of his arm, Max eyed it ruefully, he hadn't noticed it at the time and figured he had probably gotten it at some point during the spar with the man who Sonia had _disarmed. _Max did have to marvel sometimes, for all intents and purposes they should have, would have still been lying there, hurt, unable to move and probably very closely, dead. But, as with other times, here they were, calmly and methodically, patching up and moving on. He still felt twinges uncomfortably in all sorts of places and would have liked nothing more than to just curl up somewhere safe and preferably warm – preferably home-and sleep for a _very_ long time, but his instincts prickled at him as to the _wrongness_ of this place, and the danger set his nerves to wires, what had just happened with Sonia grated at him, even as the voice had, and though he had sensed a great deal of malice in being and intent from whoever it was, he, as well as Sonia had got the meaning loud and clear: they weren't prisoners, but try to escape and they wouldn't leave, they had to follow, presumably at their own preferred pace, but not too long. Whoever it was had come awake to find the world that they were expecting not as it was, and it unnerved and worried them; things were in motion that had no right to be and had to be stopped and though Max sensed age, a great _deal _of age, about the voice at this point, necessity had brought on impatience. There were things in the making here in this place, things to do with his family and Max had to work out what. And the only way to do that was, to meet with this creature face to face, for good or ill.

Though Max could, hearing thoughts and voices wasn't an exact; it was often muddled and full of many things. He had found that, most creatures thought conjunctively with sight, hearing, and smell. They almost, thought and saw simultaneously, unconsciously, their minds were much more open and aware of things around them; their minds, fluttered, for use of a better word: continued and discontinued thoughts at random, picking up, filtering through, analysing and computing much more in instances than simple directed speech and thus Max, by reading someone or thing, may sometimes be able to pick up snatches of thought or information that was floating around: people or things in the background, places, a sense of time, events or images, even about the person themselves.

Usually however, at feeling something so _sinister _and unerringly _unending¸_ and simply ageless, especially about this being – something that had managed to break into his barriers-would have warned him off faster than he could blink, _but_ this time? This time his curiosity was peaked¸ _who, what, why...where?_ all raced through his mind and he wondered if-

_it would have been better to burn them _Sonia thought's broke into his musings, it was with regards to the disused materials and Max agreed, but it wasn't possible to get to any lighters, matches or anything of the like and their coats and other valuables had been removed leaving them both in jeans and t-shirts a long sleeved – now ripped cardigan over hers. They decided to shove them all into a pillowcase from the room and dump that in a waste basket under a sink. They had found in opening; a door they had just noticed, on the far side of the room -next to a window in which the morning light spilled- which- had surprisingly lead to a grand marbled, tiled, bathroom with a huge tub, on golden feet, and a pristine toilet and sink (it was through doors under the sink that they found the waste basket). It was only then that they realised, quite how ornate the room itself was it was now that they could appreciate it fully- carved mahogany and dark brocade curtains, richly dark coloured sheets, one large mirror, patterned walls and a low stool, soon straightened, made the room feel dark and classical, almost Victorian breathing of age and time and the twins wondered who had used the room before them but now, they hadn't time to stop and stare _or even have a shower _Sonia thought longingly, her twin ignored her. Together they exited the room, shutting the door behind them.

They were in the corridor again and really took in the age of the house itself, Max had been right when he thought the place had that haunted quality. The corridor was narrower than they expected, short at first glance, but curled round and off the further they looked. There were other dark wooden panelled doors next to the ones they had just come out of and Sonia wondered if there were more bedrooms behind them and if they were occupied and by whom. The corridor had, at one time been lavishly wallpapered, in embossed golden scrolled paper, but that was now, fading, peeling, clogged with damp and years of neglect, with gouges in the walls here and there. Along the walls facing the doors were gilded golden portrait frames but they were so old and tarred with dust that it was difficult to make out any of the features of those who were painted within. Moving further down the corridor the twins noted an old six pronged candelabra hung stationery above them from gutted wooden ceilings that threw dim golden light on the ceiling and floors, empty brass brackets that once held candles, and glass bulbs for lamps- one of which added more light as they came to the end of their row of doors- added to the feel of age of the place. At the end of the row and just before the corridors curved round was a huge rounded mirror to their left was a further long row of narrow corridor and more doors, to their right, the same; typically, the left was better lit and better kempt, the walls were lighter and relatively undamaged, while the right if it was possible looked even darker, dingier and more foreboding, with shabbier walls, and a questionable ceiling.

The twins eyed each other and then themselves, reading the thoughts that the other projected on the matter and the images of themselves in the mirror: 1. the corridor made them feel like a bad parody of Hansel and Gretel and 2. They looked a mess. They gathered they would do, but didn't realise it would look so, well...bad: blood stains and ripped jeans – half of Sonia's cardigan sleeves and back was missing-torn away in strips, similarly with Max's shirt. They looked bruised and tired, even under the dim light; with heavy bags and black eyes. Cuts marred Max's cheeks and swept across the bridge of his straight nose and Sonia's full bottom lip was puffy and swollen with a cut down the side and across one cheekbone, Sonia touched it absently, someone must have gotten too close when she was fighting in the warehouse. She glanced at her brother seeing her own face, albeit a more masculine version mirrored there, the same nose, chin and cheekbones, the same wide dark eyes with a gaze read that he was lost in a thought and his mind was closed, so she couldn't glean anything from him, she nudged him gently

'_Left?' _

Max shook his head, then taking a moment, shrugged.

_The voice said the library in the east Wing. If we take behind us as south, then we go right- but I don't like the idea of getting lost in this place_

Sonia nodded agreeing.

_We still don't know which way goes where, what do your instincts say? _

Wordlessly Max turned his head and body to the darker corridor on their right and Sonia sighed, briefly wondering about breadcrumbs, Max caught this and grinned lopsidedly at her;

"Right it is then" he said aloud and began to walk down the right hand corridor. The low almost toneless whistle (for some reason her brother found it appropriate) of the first few bars of '_The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' _floated back to her from out of the dim light. Sonia just rolled her eyes and made a few desultory remarks under her breath about her brother's ability to switch moods instantly, even if he had their mother's uncanny instinctual ability and followed him.


End file.
